Chair



F. BAUER Feb. 23, 1943. 1

CHAIR Filed June 8, 1942 Patented Feb. 23, 1943 CHAIR Frank Bauer, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to The Milwaukee Chair Company, Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application June 8, 1942, Serial No. 446,171

2 Claims.

This invention relates to chairs, and more particularly to a so-called all-wood chair; that is. wherein the entire chair is made of wood, or at least non-metallic material, except for the castors and use of a minimum number of nails or screws. Also, nails and screws may be entirely eliminated, if desired, and Wooden dowels or pins substituted therefor.

The chair of the present invention is preferably of the swivel chair type, and is particularly adapted for oflice use.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an all-wood swivel chair which may be made up of simple interchangeable sub-assemblies, each comprising a minimum number of parts. The sub-assemblies are of rigid construction and may very easily be secured together by comparatively unskilled workers to form a complete chair of a desired type.

A further object is the provision of an all-wood swivel chair of the swivel pedestal type in which the complete pedestal is adapted for interchangeably securing any suitable type of chair seat assembly thereon. 4

Another object is the provision of an all-wood swivel type pedestal chair in which the pedestal may be easily adjusted to different heights as required, and in which the pedestal elements are retained in assembled swiveling relation when the chair-isadjusted to any one of a plurality of different heights.

It is also an object to provide an all-wood swivel chair of the character described which will be of few parts, cheap to manufacture, easy to assemble,

and whichwill not easily get out of order. Further objects will be apparent from the specification and appended claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an all-wood swivel ,chair illustrating one embodiment of the invention, and is shown p 'tially in axial section for purposes of illustration;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the pedestal and is taken on a line substantially corresponding to line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the pedestal and illustrates the manner of reinforcing the joints between the legs and the base or. column of the pedestal; and

Fig. 4 is a top view of one of the bearing discs or washers-which may be used for adjusting the base portion l and a swivel portion I mounted for free rotation on the base. These may be sepa: rate sub-assemblies. A seat assembly 3 is interchangeably mounted on the swivel portion 2 and may include the usual back portion 4 and arms 5. The seat is preferably provided with a suitable reinforcing frame 6. This frame also provides an ornamental depending flange which efiectively hides the upper portion of the pedestal and adds mat'erially to the appearance of the chair as a whole. On certain types of chairs, the flange is omitted.

The embodiment, as shown, comprises three assemblies which may separately be manufactured and very quickly and easily assembled; and, as the chair seat portion may easily be attached or removed, any desired seat construction may interchangeably be mounted on the pedestal.

The base portion 1 comprises a comparatively large diameter cylindrical base block or column I, which, in actual practice, is preferably about 4 inches in diameter and is provided withan upstanding axial pintle' 8. The.pintle is integral with the base 1, or is secured therein by means of glue or otherwise, to provide an integral structure, so that the entire column may easily be turned in the usual wood lathe.

The column I and pintle 8 may, of course, be turned from a single block of wood although it is preferably built up of glued-together sections in the usual well-known manner.

When the base is made of the dimensions stated, the pintle 8 is also of relatively large diameter, preferably about 1 /2 inches in diameter, so that a very rigid structure may be provided.

Radially extending legs 9 are secured to the sides of the cylindrical base I, and the sides of the base are preferably vertically channeled, as illustrated by dotted lines at l0, (Fig. 3), so that the legs may be inserted therein and rigidly secured by means of glue and suitable dowels II. The width of the legs adjacent the base I is preferably coextensive with the height of the base block, as'shown. The pintle 8 is provided with a series of annular grooves l3 to receive a retaining member, which will be described later.

The swivel portion of the pedestal comprises an elongated spool l4, preferably of the same maximum diameter as the base I, and which spool is restricted in outside diameter intermediate its length, as shown at IS. The spool is provided with an axial bore l6 extending therethrough and of a diameter to provide a snug running fit on the pintle 8. The spool I4 is preferably of substantially the same length as the height of the pintle 8. The upper surface of the spool is fiat, but is pintle, but will be retained thereon unless the screw is threaded outwardly sufficiently to release the inner end from the groove.

A comparatively thick wooden disc or plate I8 is secured to the upper end of the spool It by means of dowels l9, and screws, if required, and may be glued in place on the spool in the usual manner of securing such elements together. The disc will, of course, be at a slight angle to the axis of the spool.

A chair seat assembly 3 may interchangeably be securedon the disc I8 by means of screws 20, By means of this construction, anydesired type of chair seat assembly may be secured on the pedestal and it may readily be positioned as required to provide a chair which is properly balanced with respect to structure and appearance.

If desired, the spool l4 may seat directly on the upper surface of the base portion 4 and the application of a small amount of graphite and cylinder oil to the bearing surfaces provides a substantially frictionless swivel bearing, and the construction is such that substantially all wear is eliminated from the swivel connections.

A plurality of bearing washers 2| are mounted on the pintle 8 between the base I and the spool l4. These washers are of the same diameter as the base and spool, and are preferably formed of ply-wood, solid wood, or the like. Also, in the embodiment illustrated, two washers are shown, and these are preferably each /g inch thick. The grooves I 3 in the pintle are spaced inch apart, so that if one or both of the washers 2| are removed from the pintle, the screw I! may be engaged in a corresponding groove.

The base portion l is preferably provided with a thin ply-wood reinforcing plate 22 and may be secured thereto by means of screws 23 or suitable wooden dowels may be used and the plate applied by means of glue, if desired. This plate may be of fiber, if desired.

The plate 22 is provided with radially extenda ing arms 24 which overlap the legs 9, as shown,

The invention provides an all-wood swivel chair which may be made up in a plurality of separate interchangeable subassemblies, and wherein the chair is adjustable in height and will not easily get out of order in use.

It is intended, of course, that the invention should notbe limited to the specific embodiment or embodiments disclosed herein, since modifications may be made, and it is contemplated, therefore, by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

Having thus described this invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An all-wood chair pedestal comprising a relatively large diameter integral base block terminating in an elongated upstanding axial pintle having an annular groove intermediate its ends, radial legs secured in the side walls of said block and substantially flush with the bottom surface thereof, a thin reinforcing plate secured to the bottom surface of said block and having integral radial arms overlapping said legs and secured thereto, a spool substantially the same length as said pintle and having an axial bore therethrough, said spool being arcuately restricted in diameter adjacent said groove, releasable mean extending through said restricted portion of said spool and engaged in said slot, and a flat, comparatively thick, large diameter disc secured tothe top of said spool and adapted to interchangeably receive chair seats thereon.

2. An all-wood chair pedestal comprising a relatively large diameter integral base block terminating in an elongated upstanding axial pintle having an annular groove intermediate its ends. radial legs secured in the side walls of said block and substantially flush with the bottom surface thereof, a thin reinforcing plate secured to the bottom surface of said block and having integral radial arms overlapping said legs and secured thereto, a spool substantially the same length as said pintle and having an axial bore therethrough, said spool being arcurately restricted in diameter adjacent said groove, releasable means extending through said restricted portion of said spool and engaged in said slot, the fiat upper surface of said spool being at an angle to the axis, and a fiat, comparatively thick, large diameter disc secured to the top of said spool and adapted to interchangeably receive chair seats thereon.

FRANK BAUER. 

